The Philadelphia Orchestra
Performers
The Philadelphia Orchestra
Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Music Director and Conductor
Program
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 2
JESSICA HUNT Climb
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 3, "Eroica"
Event Duration
The printed program will last approximately 90 minutes with no intermission.Listen to Selected Works
At a Glance
The Philadelphia Orchestra continues its pandemic-delayed celebration of Beethoven’s 250th birthday with a cycle of his complete symphonies paired with new works written in dialogue with them.
Beethoven’s Third Symphony, the revolutionary “Eroica,” so changed the history of the genre upon its public premiere in 1805 that it quickly overshadowed his first two symphonies, which he had composed shortly before. Despite its humor and good cheer, some critics initially greeted the Second Symphony as “bizarre.” Beethoven wrote it around a time of acute personal crisis, as he was first confronting his loss of hearing.
That crisis seems more evident in the “Eroica,” which Beethoven originally called “Bonaparte.” He changed the title after becoming disillusioned with Napoleon when he crowned himself emperor.
Beethoven’s confrontation with adversity inspired American composer Jessica Hunt’s Climb, as she has dealt with her own challenges living with chronic illness. The metaphor of the difficulty she experiences climbing steps led her to write what she calls “a letter-through-time to Beethoven to express my gratitude for his work and to express our silent kinship.” She named the piece “to represent the challenge of living with any invisible illness or obstacle: Some of us cannot simply walk up a flight of stairs; instead, we must climb.”